NFL Week Two Breakdown

Week Two in the NFL left a lot of fans wondering if their teams were ready for the long haul as a myriad of big time players went down with injuries. This week, the running back position took a huge hit with six factor backs falling to injury including, Adrian Peterson (MIN), Doug Martin (TB), Thomas Rawls (SEA), Johnathan Stewart (CAR), Arian Foster (MIA), Danny Woodhead (SD), and Ameer Abdullah (DET). The extent of there injuries are for the most part unknown, so keep checking for more updates throughout the week.

Thursday Night

New York Jets @ Buffalo Bills

After two bad losses last week, both teams looked to this division match-up to gain ground in the AFC East. The Jets came in with great performances from QB Ryan Fitzpatrick who threw for almost 400 yards and RB Matt Forte who had another strong performance in Week 2 finding the end-zone three times.

Although the Bills put up 31 points, no one really stood out in what was a poor performance on both sides of the ball. The second straight loss resulted in a shake up within the coaching staff as the Owner and a number of offensive players had a meeting which resulted in the firing of Offensive coordinator, Greg Roman.

Jets 37- Bills 31

Sunday

Miami Dolphins @ New England Patriots

The Patriots started week 2 on fire as Jimmy Garoppolo put 21 points up on the board in the blink of an eye firing a couple TD’s to Danny Amendola and new TE acquisition Martellus Bennett. Tom Brady fans were starting to get nervous that Jimmy might never let TB12 back on the field again. Unfortunately, late in the second quarter, Jimmy G rolled out to his right and completed a huge third down pass to rookie receiver Malcolm Mitchell. In the process, Kiko Alonso crushed the QB and he landed awkwardly on his shoulder. The injury was first reported to keep him out six weeks, but later test show he could be back for week 4 against the Buffalo Bills. In his replacement, rookie QB Jacoby Brissett controlled the game and hang on for a narrow victory with the help of RB Legarette Blount (29 Car, 123 YDS, 1 TD)

Patriots 31- Dolphins 24

Cincinnati Bengals @ Pittsburgh Steelers

In what is a commonly known as a dogfight among AFC North powerhouses, the first bout of 2016 was more tame than last years final match-up. The usual suspects Antonio Brown and AJ Green remained quiet for a majority of the game. The running backs Deangelo Williams (94 YDS rushing) and Giovanni Bernard (100 YDS and TD receiving) were the offensive leaders for both squads, but the Steelers were able to squeeze out the narrow victory at home.

What came as a surprise to about everyone watching on Sunday was the Browns 20-0 lead over the Ravens after the first quarter. Outstanding performances from RB Isaiah Crowell and WR Corey Coleman had Browns fans hoping for the first W of the 2016 campaign. Fast forward 45 minutes later and the Browns were held scoreless through the next three quarters and Joe Flacco led the Birds to victory.

Ravens 25- Browns 20

Dallas Cowboys @ Washington Redskins

In another fierce division match-up, the Cowboys ponied up against the Redskins utilizing there talented RB to the fullest of their abilities. Ezekiel Elliot and Alfred Morris sunk the Redskins hope of winning this game with great days on the ground. That added with Dez Bryant’s 7 grabs; the Cowboys sealed there fate with a late 4th quarter TD run from former Skin Alfred Morris, who capped the TD off with his classic home run celebration.

Cowboys 27- Redskins 23

New Orleans Saints @ New York Giants

Last year, this was a high scoring match-up where both teams combined for over 1000 yards. This year it was slightly different, both teams were driving up and down the field, but they had trouble finding the end-zone. Eli Manning was a spectacular 32 of 41 for 368 yards. He used that accuracy on the final drive finding all his weapons and putting the Giants in position to kick the game winning field goal as time expired, causing the Saints to lose there second heart breaker in a row.

Giants 16- Saints 13

San Francisco 49ers @ Carolina Panthers

Cam Newton set the Panthers franchise record for TD passes after throwing all over the 49ers secondary. Greg Olsen ( 5 REC, 122YDs, 1 TD) and Fozzy Whitaker (16 CAR, 100 YDs) helped the offensive explosion for the Panthers who, beginning to end wiped the floor with the 49ers defense.

Panthers 46- 49ers 27

Kansas City Chiefs @ Houston Texans

The Texans finally showed their defensive prowess, shutting down the Chiefs offense all day. They did a fantastic job containing Alex Smith and RB Spencer Ware, holding the Chiefs to 13 points. Texans QB Brock Osweiler continued to build his repertoire with his receivers Deandre Hopkins and Will Fuller who each had over 100 yards receiving.

Texans 19- Chiefs 12

Seattle Seahawks @ Los Angeles Rams

In the Rams return to LA, a defensive battled ensued. The Rams stopped Russell Wilson and ended his streak of 17 consecutive games with a TD pass. Other than that stat, this game was a snooze fest. No one had a standout performance and Jeff Fisher may be the first coach in NFL history to under utilize one of the best RB’s in the NFL. However, the Rams are 1-1 but the only problem for them is they still haven’t found the end zone.

The Cardinals rebounded strong after a tough loss to the Brady-less Pats in week one. The defense showed what they could do nearly shutting out the Bucs and forcing 5 turnovers on top of scoring a defensive TD. Carson Palmer and David Johnson added TD’s in the Cardinals rout over the Bucs

Cardinals 40- Buccaneers 7

Jacksonville Jaguars @ San Diego Chargers

Philip Rivers had himself a day with the Chargers offense connecting with Travis Benjamin for 2 TD’s. Melvin Gordon also added a score and 100 yards on the ground for his second straight week. On the flip side, Blake Bortles and the Jags offense struggled for the majority of this contest failing to reach the end zone until mid way through the fourth quarter.

Chargers 38- Jaguars 14

Atlanta Falcons @ Oakland Raiders

It was a day for QB’s in Oakland as Matt Ryan led the Falcons offense to a victory going 26 of 34 for 396 yds and 3 TD’s. Derek Carr also had a solid day throwing for 300 yards and 3 scores. The Falcons used tandem backs Devonta Freeman and Tevin Coleman to seal the Raiders fate, as they hung on to a tight victory.

Falcons 35- Raiders 28

Indianapolis Colts @ Denver Broncos

Broncos RB CJ Anderson led the offensive charge running for 74 yds and a TD. The star for Broncos was on the other side of the ball and it was the usual suspect, Von Miller. Miller recorded 7 tackles and 3 sacks along with a forced fumble. The strong defensive performance was capped off by Aqib Talib’s 46 yd INT return for a touchdown.

Broncos 34- Colts 20

Green Bay Packers @ Minnesota Vikings

It was the first game in the new stadium for the Vikings and it went as well as it could have. Newly acquired QB Sam Bradford led the Vikes on offense along with star wide out Stefon Diggs. The pair combined for 9 completions for 182 yds and a score. The defense did the rest of the work keeping Aaron Rodgers guessing and holding the potent Packers offense to 14 points. The victory may have come at a huge cost for the Vikings though as they lost there star RB Adrian Peterson to a knee injury.